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Persistent current in normal metals
Author(s) -
Mohanty P.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
annalen der physik
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.009
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1521-3889
pISSN - 0003-3804
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1521-3889(199911)8:7/9<549::aid-andp549>3.0.co;2-b
Subject(s) - quantum decoherence , asymmetry , physics , condensed matter physics , phenomenology (philosophy) , current (fluid) , electron , diffusion , quantum mechanics , quantum , thermodynamics , philosophy , epistemology
We discuss the recent experiments on persistent current in metallic rings in the backdrop of low temperature decoherence. The observed size of the persistent current, typically on the order of the Thouless energy, e / τ D , is much larger than the theoretical results, obtained with or without electron interaction. In considering the phenomenology of both decoherence and persistent current, usually observed in similar systems, we argue towards a dynamic role played by decoherence in the generation of a persistent current. A field‐induced phase shift from near‐equilibrium high‐frequency fluctuations– which otherwise gives rise to decoherence–under certain conditions of periodicity and asymmetry due to disorder, is argued to induce a steady state diffusion current on the order of e / τ D , comparable to the observed persistent current.